Voices
by Seph Meadowes
Summary: Emma Cullen just wanted to help Abel Weber get over his unrequited crush. He just needed to see things her way. The right one. [No Bella.] [Genderbend Edward/Angela.] HIATUS.
1. Voices

Emma Cullen thought of the high school experience as a purgatory. It wasn't quite a circle of hell but it wasn't too far off. Having to repeat this never ending cycle made her wonder if she had lost her sanity some time ago and just hadn't noticed. And it wasn't like she could pretend to be a college student as her father's logic was to start as early as possible so they could stay in places longer.

There was also the fact that Carlisle had a thing for the small town of Forks. Maybe the constant rain reminded him of where he came from. Perhaps he liked the quaintness of this wet, mossy corner of America. Or he was secretly an adrenaline junkie and suicidal and being near a pack of werewolves that could kill them if they even cough near a human was too tempting to pass up.

This is why Emma was driving to school in the shiny Volvo that stood out against her peers' second hand cars and pick-up trucks and wondered to herself why she couldn't have died in her mid-twenties. Surely, looking like she was seventeen for an eternity was a cruel and unusual punishment. She must've committed a terrible crime to deserve all of this. And if Emmett did not stop trying to change the music in her car, she would set him on fire and she didn't even care if it caused Rosalie's wrath.

She pulled into the last spot in the parking lot, expertly maneuvering around Mike Newton's red Honda Civic and ignored the shouts of outrage that came from him. She and her siblings made their way out of the car and towards the school entrance. The usual mix of voices, both verbal and mental, assaulted her and she worked on drowning them all out. They could never be fully muted much to her chagrin over the decades and the easiest trick she could find was to focus on one mind and submerge herself in their thoughts for a few hours.

She had a personal favorite mind in Forks High. She had a few classes with Abel Weber and she liked to stay inside his head as long as she could. She first encountered his thoughts in Freshman Year when they first moved back to Forks and she found herself bouncing from one mind to another in class before settling on Abel's. His mind was calm and kind, much like how he was outwardly.

He was one of the few people she'd met in her lifetime that was incapable of being anything else but himself. She was pondering over him in the middle of their English class. He sat somewhere in the middle of the room, dutifully paying attention to Mr. Munroe's lecture about one of the Bard's sonnets. She stared at the back of Abel Weber's head as he took down notes.

"_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"_ Mr. Munroe recited. _"Thou art more lovely and more temperate…"_

She looked deeper into Abel's mind. He was smiling as he recalled something. Words became visual and Lauren Mallory smiling under the summer sun appeared. She looked almost angelic, the sunlight turning her blonde hair almost white.

And the daily reminder of Abel's futile crush was here. As far as she knew, Abel had an unrequited crush on Lauren Mallory that was going nowhere. The girl's mind was anger and bitterness and cold derision. Being inside her head felt like walking on sharp icicles that would melt out of nowhere and become hot water. Lauren's mind was one of Emma's least favorite to visit.

She didn't know why Abel Weber was so besotted. There was Lauren's best friend, Jessica Stanley, who despite her inability to stop talking, was a lot nicer. And shockingly clever as her mind was all long equations and fast synapses. Her mind felt like stabbing a fork into an electrical socket. Still, better than Lauren's.

"_And every fair from fair sometime declines,"_ Mr. Munroe continued. _"By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed."_

She did not interfere in human lives. It was a personal rule she set for herself long ago. Her father was the merciful one that dedicated his existence to preserving human life. She did not share his need to contribute to the world in any way.

But Abel Weber needed help or some form of intervention. She knew that his friends were unable to dissuade his feelings for his doomed crush. She felt the need to do something. He deserved better than to pine for someone that would never return his affections.

"_But thy eternal summer shall not fade,"_ Mr. Munroe's volce droned on. _"Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st."_

She considered her options. She'd observed over the years that humans got over their affections for someone when a new love interest was introduced. It was an easy equation. Negative one plus one equals zero as Jessica's mind would've shouted.

Abel just needed somebody else to fawn over. His type was apparently women who hated the world. Rosalie would've been ideal as she even looked similar to Lauren. The only problem being Rosalie would rather be guillotined than help her with this, Alice would've found it amusing but Jasper, who was never too far from his wife, might also eat Abel. She considered all the girls in school and disqualified them due to Abel's general disinterest. He was never unkind to them even in his thoughts but he didn't desire any of them. Maybe it would just be easier to let Jasper modify his emotions…

Abel turned his head and they made eye contact. His brown eyes were almost as dark as his hair. His face was nicely proportioned, a nose slightly too big, thin lips, and freckles everywhere. He wasn't unfortunate-looking for human.

He gave her that small, friendly smile he gave everyone. She'd seen him give it to teachers and students alike for over three years. This was the first time he'd ever given it to her. And there was nothing extraordinary about it but she found herself breaking eye contact and staring down at her desk.

"_Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,"_ Mr. Munroe was still reading that damnable sonnet. _"When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st."_

She didn't look up again for a few minutes and Abel was back to taking notes. She was being silly. She hadn't had a heartbeat for close to a century and she knew that her heart would've been beating faster if it could. She might've even blushed.

The most absurd idea came to her and she didn't dismiss it immediately. Abel needed to find somebody else to crush on to get over Lauren Mallory. She wasn't blonde but she disliked existing in the world. Close enough.

He would have to make do. At least, until he discovered how she wasn't anything to crush over. Then, he could move on with his life and find a nice, sweet girl that wouldn't rip to his pieces. All she needed to do was get his attention.

* * *

They had the same lunch period after class which gave her the opportunity to talk to him in the hallway. He was several inches taller than her and she had to use some of her vampire speed to catch up to his longer gait. Living around Emmett for seventy years taught her the best way to get a tall man's attention which was to make him look down. She got to his side and fell into step with him.

She asked abruptly, "What'd you think about the sonnet?"

He turned to her, his brow furrowing. He stopped in the middle of the hallway as he realized who was talking to him. She refused to look away from his stare. She would not break this time. It was just difficult to be intimidating when you had to almost fully tilt up your head to look at him.

"Um," His thoughts were a mass of confusion. "The sonnet?"

"Sonnet eighteen," She clarified. "_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"_

Finally, regaining his bearings, he replied, "Yes. I remember. I thought it was nice."

"Nice?' She echoed. "You don't think its derivative?"

He blinked as if seeing her for the first time. He was still in shock she was talking to him willingly. He was pondering that this was the most words he'd ever heard from her.

"I don't think its derivative. It's…it's romantic, right?" He remarked. "Eternal love and devotion aren't derivative. They're what we should aspire to."

"But love is fleeting," She pointedly ignored the looks people were sending them, particularly her siblings. "People declare their undying love and then find a new love in the next breath. And that old love is forgotten."

"I don't think every love story is like that…"

"For example, there was Rosalind in _Romeo and Juliet_. Romeo insists he loves her and then the second he meets Juliet, Rosalind is tossed aside like she's nothing," She argued. "He found a new love and proved that love doesn't last forever. It gets you and the other person committing a suicide pact. How is that romantic?"

He stared at her for a moment, as if assessing her before smiling. "It's not. _Romeo and Juliet_ is a tragedy. Romeo was infatuated with Rosalind. He didn't love her."

"And Juliet?"

"Maybe he did love her or maybe he was infatuated with her too," He shrugged. "Either way, their story isn't one to aspire to. There are better ones out there."

She clutched her bag to her chest, not sure where this conversation had gone to. "Like?"

"You've ever watched _The Princess Bride_?" He nodded. "Wesley and Buttercup's romance, now _that_ is worth aspiring too."

She had watched it. When it had come out in theatres and Alice insisted on seeing it. She had thought it silly and forgettable. She had an urge to re-watch it now.

"It was nice to finally meet you after three years," He gave her that friendly smile again. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to eat. I'm starving."

She watched him walk down the hallway and to the cafeteria until the back of his head disappeared from view. She was still standing there when Alice and Jasper came over. The latter grinned at her knowingly. Alice looped their arms together and led them to the cafeteria.

Rosalie and Emmett were at their usual table. Plates of untouched pasta lay there never to be consumed. She took a seat beside Rosalie and glanced up at the table across the room. And there was Abel Weber eating his lunch without a care in the world. He looked the same but something had changed and she didn't know what it was.

* * *

On one of the many sleepless nights in her existence, she borrowed Alice's DVD copy of _The Princess Bride_ to watch it in her room. It was still silly and forgettable. She didn't know what Abel was going on about. She finished the film annoyed and disappointed.

To channel out her emotions, she asked Emmett to go hunting with her. Even as she fed on a mountain lion, she still had that damn priest from the movie's voice echoing in her head. _Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wihin a dweam_…

Maybe she should just kill Abel Weber. She only thought it for a second before changing her mind. It wasn't worth destroying the treaty for a teenage boy. A teenage boy who thought he was wiser than his years, trying to debate Shakespeare with her of all people.

No. She would not kill him. She declared as she helped Emmett take down a bear. She would make him like her and then make him dislike her.

That shouldn't be hard. It should be easier than having to hold this bear down as Emmett had his dinner. Why did Emmett have to take so long to eat? This wasn't wine. There was no need to savor.

"Could you hurry up?" She hissed impatiently. "I have things to do."

Emmett raised his head. "I'm almost done."

"Fine."

Abel Weber was nicer than a bear. He hadn't tried to bite or scratch her once. If she ever ate him, he would probably be polite and stay still so she could get a precise bite into his artery. He would probably even play some relaxing jazz music during the whole thing.

She wouldn't kill him. He didn't deserve it. This damn bear deserved it. It was taking forever to die.

* * *

Emma had a certain fondness for History classes. Particularly, during lessons of times she lived through. It made her nostalgic at times but mostly amused and frustrated at the inaccuracies. She usually used it as the time to reminisce on the past and be maudlin for an hour.

Mr. Turner decided to pair them in groups of two. They had to pick a topic from a fish bowl. She stilled as she read the piece of paper. What were the odds?

"What topic did we get?" Abel asked and she wordlessly handed it over. "_1918 influenza pandemic. _Sounds terrible."

It was. The kind of terrible one never really forgot. No matter how hard she tried. She was glad she didn't sleep as she knew what her nightmares would consist of.

She tried to not let her emotions show, adopting the blank mask she learned over the years. They both agreed to work on the project at his house as he lived nearer. She offered to drive as she had a car and her siblings could get themselves home. He informed her he had basketball practice and wouldn't be getting home till later that day. She had nothing else to do so she told him she would pick him up while she was really hiding in the library to kill the time. She was very good at killing time.

About half an hour of mindlessly staring at the book of poems she couldn't care less for, she found herself wondering over to the open doorway of the gym where the basketball team was practicing. She squeaking of sneakers and the dribble of balls made her ears itch. It was easy to spot Abel as he was trying to keep the other team from taking the ball from him. Then, as he was trying to get away, Abel fell and landed on his knee.

He dropped the ball and lied on his back, clutching his knee. His face grimacing and pale. His thoughts were red and sharp from the pain. He had managed to seriously injure himself.

What followed was a trip to the nurse's office that led to going to the emergency room. Emma drove him to the hospital since she knew the route like the back of her hand and she volunteered. Mike Newton came long and helped get Abel into the backseat of her car. Mike gave her a suspicious look before he started whispering to his friend.

"Hey, man, don't be alarmed. I think Emma Cullen has a crush on you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Abel whispered back. "She's just being nice."

"There's nice and then there's stalking," He countered. "And she's not nice."

"Mike…"

"Which would make her your type," Mike nodded. "You like angry girls."

"I do not!" He met her gaze in the rearview mirror and she pretended like she couldn't hear anything. He continued whispering to Mike. "I don't like angry girls. I just…I just like Lauren."

"Who is as cuddly as a polar bear," Mike pointed out. "Look, Abe, its cool. You have a preference. It's okay. We all do."

"I do not…" He was relieved to finally see the hospital come into view. "Never mind."

* * *

A sprained knee meant he had to let it heal for two weeks which meant crutches and no basketball. Mike groaned at this and Abel gave him a guilty smile. There was no real disappointment at not having to play but rather worry for the team and having to let them down. Abel was known to responsible and dependable. He did not know how to function otherwise.

Her father continued to explain something to him and she stared at them from an empty cot. She had spent too much time in hospitals because of her father. There was also her stint in medical school a few decades ago. She was quite bored of everything.

Carlisle asked, ever the parent, "Do you two boys have a ride home?"

"I have my car but I'll need to pick it up at school," Mike explained. "It should only take a few minutes."

"Maybe Emma can drive you home, Abel," Carlisle offered and she stared at him in disbelief. "We should get you home straightaway so you could rest."

"I don't wanna be a bother," He eyed her a she stood up. "Mike and I should be fine."

"Nonsense," Carlisle reached behind him and gently pulled her closer to stand beside him. "My daughter is more than happy to help."

"Yes," She found herself automatically saying. She always wondered if Carlisle did have a special ability but he refused to tell people, the ability to make people do what he wanted. Or maybe it was just the charm. "It's no bother, Abel."

He still looked unsure. "If it's okay with you…"

"It's more than okay," She insisted. "I'm happy to help."

"See?" Carlisle smiled and if he pinched her cheek, she was disowning him. "Everything works out."

Mike cut in, "So, you'll just drop me off at school first?"

"My son can drive you."

Emmett entered the emergency room, the doors swishing behind him. Emma had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Her brother smiled at her knowingly and she reconsidered setting him on fire. Rosalie would get over it eventually.

* * *

I have no excuse for this story except shameless self-indulgence. If Meyer can genderbend Twilight then so can I. It's not a full genderbend though just these two so no love triangle. Jacob doesn't swing that way. It's just these two being in teenage awkwardness.

Edythe is a no. I do not like. I opted for 'Emma' cause I like it and because of the Austen character. Emma Cullen is stand-offish much like her namesake. She's more sarcastic and has a darker sense of humor than Angela so she might not be your cup of tea. It's fine. Why is Emma so into Abel? She has a crush on him but refuses to admit. She's in denial. Let her figure it out.

Why change Allen to Abel? Allen is okay but I just like how Abel sounds more. Abel also gets killed in the Bible which felt fitting.

This story will not be 18 or so chapters long. This will be a shorter story.

1\. The Princess Bride is a fantasy adventure comedy film that came out in 1987.

2\. The sonnet they read in class is Sonnet 18.

3\. The story title is from the song 'Voices' by Against the Current which was my inspiration to write the story.

4\. "It was nice to finally meet you after three years" is from the _Beastly_ film adaptation.


	2. Nocturne

Emma would never tell Emmett but he was secretly her favorite sibling. Alice was lovely, Jasper had a dry and sarcastic humor, she could appreciate and Rosalie…was Rosalie. She appreciated Emmett's eternal optimism. When she wanted to wallow in the futility of her existence, he would snap her out of it by making her laugh or want to strangle him.

But as much as she really wanted to punch him in the face, he fully understood and accepted her. She supposed any man who could fall in love with the she-demon that was Rosalie had to be either very brave or very stupid. And in Emmett's case, he was both. She did not however appreciate the suggestive wink he gave her when she drove away with Abel Weber in the backseat of her car.

_Don't do anything I wouldn't do, sis,_ his thoughts called out, _and have fun with your human!_

She wanted to shout that Abel wasn't her human. He wasn't her anything. He was simply the guy she was playing matchmaker for because he had bad taste in women. And she could not live the rest of her already torturous existence knowing he ended up with someone like Lauren Mallory.

Abel directed her to his house on Bogachiel Way, a small one-story structure painted a faded light green with a detached shed. She parked the volvo and opened the car door for him. He refused her help getting out of the car, hopping on one leg as he made his way to the porch steps. He was slow but he got to the front door eventually, unlocking it and turning back to her with that friendly if not uncomfortable smile of his.

"We don't have to work on the report today," He told her. "I can write it and you can just text me whatever parts you want."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you always do this?"

He looked confused. "Do what?"

"Do all the work and let other people take the credit?"

"I…" He looked embarrassed, his face flushing a bright red. "I…I don't do that."

She listened to his internal denial. He reassured himself he didn't do what she suggested. Then memories came, the amount of times he let Mike or Tyler slack off and did all the work. The times he let his classmates make him do the brunt of the work and not complained because he didn't like conflict and it wasn't like he was doing much with his time anyway...

"I don't like being lazy," She interrupted his mental diatribe. "My father has always stressed on the importance of a good work ethic. Now how about you invite me in and we can get this over with?"

He moved to the side and she walked in without hesitation. The inside of the house was similar to the exterior, old but sturdy furniture, an old TV and photos of the family on picture frames. She inwardly snorted at the big heavy cross on the wall, remembering that Abel's father was a Lutheran Minister. The ancient piano at the corner made her smile and she made a beeline towards it.

It was made of dark oak and she traced the _Sauter _logo, remembering a similar piano her mother taught her how to play on. When she had left school at fifteen, she spent most of her days practicing piano until her fingers went numb. It was better than being forced to go to parties and being pushed towards men who only wanted to talk about themselves. And being ignored by her father who would retreat to his study with his friends and smoke cigars and drink and-

"Do you play?" Abel asked. "You could play on Old Bess. She wouldn't mind."

"Bess?"

"That's what we named her," He smiled and she saw a memory of a woman with dark hair and who she could only assume was Abel's mother teaching him how to play _Do Re Mi_ on the piano. "She's old but she's hanging in there. Good old Bess."

She found herself smiling despite herself and Abel was staring at her, almost in awe. She had to turn away from his brown eyes lest she say something she did not want to. He excused himself to go change and she sat on the stool and began to play Esme's favorite Nocturne piece. The piano needed some tuning but she didn't mind it, if she closed her eyes she could be back home and playing on her grand piano as she did every night.

If she tried enough, she might be back in Chicago at her family's old townhouse. Her mother would be writing letters in her room, her father at his office, and her fat Beagle, Milo, would be sleeping on the rug nearby. Hours would pass by before her mother would come down and tell her to get ready for dinner. Her father would come home and they would quietly have dinner together and Milo would beg for scraps by her feet…

"You play beautifully," She turned to see Abel had returned and was sitting on the coach again. "My mother would say you're talented."

"It's just plenty of practice," Decades of it. "Don't you play?"

"I used to and then I got busy with school…" Abel trailed off and reached for his back pack, pulling out his textbook. "We should start on that report. I don't wanna keep you here all night."

She stood up and took a seat on the armchair across from him. He'd apparently gone to the library and found information on the topic. He even made his way to the public library and researched online for newspaper articles and photos. She stared down at newspaper clippings and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach.

_Spanish Influenza Makes Appearance_

_Wear A Mask And Save Your Life_

_Influenze Cases in Quarantine Here_

_Spanish "Flu" Spreads All Over Europe_

"_Flu" Epidemic Ravages Fast_

_Influenza Epidemic Closes Schools, Churches, Theatres_

_6,000,000 Deaths From Influenza_

"Emma!"

She blinked at the sight of Abel Weber kneeling in front of her, careful not to put weight on his bad knee. His brown eyes were wide in concern and she shook her head trying to push away thoughts of crowded hospitals and her mother…

"Are you okay?" Abel grasped her hand gently. "Emma, tell me what's wrong."

"I can't," She closed her eyes and pushed away the past with all her might. She had done such a good job of burying all the painful parts away and she didn't know why they were coming back now. "It's too terrible."

"What is?" Abel asked softly, his thumb running a circle gently over her knuckles. "Maybe talking about it can help."

She shook her head, vehemently. "No. I'm fine."

"You're clearly not fine," He sighed. "Do you want me to call your siblings? If you don't want talk to me, I understand. Let me get somebody who can help."

It was his kindness, his unfailing decency that undid her. She had grown up around men who only cared about what their wants and needs. She was meant to be property, an extension of a man's vanity. No man, even her father, had cared for what she wanted until she died.

And here was Abel Weber, who despite not even being her friend, wanted to help her. It made her wonder if he had been born earlier if-

She pushed those thoughts away, not trusting them. The past seemed even more palatable then where her mind had been leading her.

"My mother – my birth mother – died when I was very young," She admitted. "It was the flu. My father got sick first. We hoped it was just a cold. Then my mother got sick too and we were all in the hospital. And then my mother she…she was gone."

And she'd been alone. When Carlisle had first turned her, she wanted nothing to do with him. She locked herself away, trying to block out all the voices she heard. Her hearing and ability made it hard to decipher which was internal and external. With little to no control, all she knew was that she was going to go mad if she did not keep her distance from everyone.

"I'm sorry," Abel whispered, afraid anything louder would break her. "I'm sorry you had to lose your parents."

She opened her eyes, wiping at her tears with her free hand. Abel was still holding hers and she didn't want him to let go.

"I love my adopted parents. Carlisle and Esme have always treated me like their own but I was close to my birth mother. She taught me everything – how to read, write, sew, play piano," She sniffed, trying to stop tears that kept coming. "I didn't want this life. And she would've hated me."

Abel stared at her in horror. "No! Don't think that. She would've loved you."

"Why?"

"Because that's what moms do," He insisted. "They love you and take care of you no matter who you are or what you do."

"Even if…"

She had killed. Murderers, rapists, and criminals of the same ilk. Rosalie had hunted with her and she had felt camaraderie with her sister in wanting to punish those who only caused other people pain. Rosalie had been so angry after she had turned and had recognized a similar wrath in her.

And if Emmett hadn't been turned, it would still be the two of them, hunting and discarding men of black hearts. Even as they felt the guilt and the self-loathing growing within themselves. They were justified. They _had_ to be.

"Even if you don't think you deserve it," Abel assured her. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. "How about we finish this some other day? I think we've covered enough for now."

She wanted to protest and pushed for them to get the work done but she was too exhausted to care. The sight of the newspaper articles made her sick and she agreed with Abel as she wiped at her wet face. He wordlessly put away his research and she readied herself to leave. He wanted to see her out but she declined, citing he needed to rest his knee.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asked, worriedly. "I could call your family to pick you up."

"No, no," She wrapped her arms around herself. "I should be okay."

Nodding, he hesitated before offering. "If you ever need somebody to talk to…"

"I'll come find you," She smiled softly and glanced at the wooden cross on the wall. "Thank you for your concern, Abel."

"Anytime."

She turned away and left the house without looking back. In the safety of her car, she refused to look for his silhouette by the window as she drove away. She wondered as she made her way home why she opened up to Abel Weber. She hadn't planned on it and it was unnecessary. She just couldn't get herself to regret it.

* * *

Emma tried to hide that she was watching the doorway, waiting for Abel to appear. He finally limped into the classroom before the bell rang and she watched the back of his head as Mr. Monroe began the lesson. He handed out books to everyone and she frowned at the cover. _Carmilla_.

She glared at Mr. Munroe as he began his explanation, wanting to throw her copy at his face and decapitate him. Why they've gone from Shakespeare to gothic vampire literature she had no clue. She would think this was a grand joke if she wasn't so annoyed. She sunk into her sweet and rubbed at her temples.

She was startled as a crumpled paper ball fell to her desk. She blinked and unfolded it. _You okay? _She recognized Abel's cramped handwriting.

She looked up and he mouthed, "Okay?"

She sighed and mouthed back, "Okay."

He smiled and went back to paying attention to the lesson, dutifully taking notes. He was so nice and thoughtful. She hadn't said a word to him in three years, treated him like air, and here he was worried about her. He comforted her as she broke down last night and treated it like it was nothing.

Who was this boy? She narrowed her eyes at him and threw back the paper ball and it hit him between his shoulder blades. He stiffened and turned around, looking a little annoyed. He mouthed, "What?"

She shrugged and tried to ignore him, pretending to listen to Munroe drone on about vampires. Abel turned back around and filtered out his confused thoughts on her behavior. Let him be confused.

"The vampire's a very lonely figure," The teacher recited. "She wants a companion forever…"

She rolled her eyes and tried to pretend she didn't continue to sneak glances at the back of Abel Weber's head.

"You find it in almost all cultures but there are three things you find in almost every vampire story," Mr. Munroe continued. "Sex, blood, and death…"

* * *

Emma walked as slow as she could in the hallway with Abel limping a few feet in front of her. She always took for granted how she couldn't get hurt easily. Humans, on the other hand, were fragile. Little paper dolls that could tear so easily in her hands. Their bones were so brittle like glass…

"Sis," Emmett wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulders. "Watching out for your human?"

She muttered, "He's not mine."

"Not yet."

She resented his knowing smile. "Not ever."

"Do you want to make a bet?" Emmett leaned into her more and she was forced to lean back to accommodate his weight. He was as big as a damn bear. "You end up with the pastor's kid, I get your Volvo."

"You don't even like my car," She pointed out. Emmett liked big cars and nothing less. Probably cause he didn't have to worry about fitting in them. "And I'm not making a bet with you. You cheat."

"Sounds like you're scared, Em."

"I am not!" She hissed. "And just to prove you wrong, fine. If I win, I get your truck."

And she was going to drive it into the ocean where it would stay _forever_. Emmett could always get another truck but it was the principal of the thing.

"You got yourself a deal," He pulled back and offered her his hand. They shook on it and he looked disturbingly pleased. "And since you didn't set a time limit, you got about seventy years or so before he dies."

She growled. Emmett always cheated or found some loophole. Growing up an only child hadn't prepared her for the eternity of dealing with siblings who would bribe, hoodwink, and intimidate her into losing. Tough luck for him as she was not backing down.

"What's seventy years?" She countered. "That's a heartbeat for us."

"Ah, yes, hearts," He chuckled. "And how yours would be aflutter if it could still beat."

Having enough of his nonsense, she left him. "You can walk home today."

"I love you too, sis!"

* * *

She had to push her matchmaking efforts more now that she had her Volvo and pride on the line. It was in one of those moments she wished she had her mother and she could ask her about what boys liked. Only for her to remember that her mother, as much as she loved her, would tell her to be amiable and sweet and agree to everything he said. Her only choices to ask were Esme or Alice.

She decided on Alice. As talking about any boy with Esme, fictional or not, would only end with her adoptive mother's delusional hope that she would finally find love and be in couple's bliss like the rest of her family. Carlisle and her brothers had gone hunting which was the perfect time for her to have a chat with her sister. She found Alice in her bedroom, sketching out another dress in one of her numerous notebooks.

"Hello Alice," She greeted. "Are you busy?"

Alice didn't look up as she continued her drawing. "Is it time for the sex talk already?"

She stopped. "What?"

Her sister finally looked up and gave her one of her dreamy smiles that she used when she wasn't quite sure what timeline she was in. It took Alice a moment before she finally said. "Is this about Jessica and the futile matchmaking?"

"Um…"

She had never said a word to anyone about what she was doing. And she hadn't thought of consulting Alice about this before because she didn't think Alice was paying attention to the future of a bunch of human adolescents.

"Is it gonna work?" She might as well ask. "Abel and Jessica?"

"He likes somebody else," Alice frowned. "Or will like."

"Yes. He likes Lauren. That's what I'm trying to get him to stop doing."

"Right. Her."

Alice hummed and she went back to her drawing. Emma took a seat on the bed beside her sister and asked, "Does he like somebody besides Lauren?"

"He will but not yet," Her pencil made that scrapping noise on paper that always mildly irked Emma. "There are still decisions to be made."

The future could be so cryptic for having a direct tap into the pool of the great beyond. Sometimes, Alice would tell them things out of order or were said in a way that was too vague for them to understand until later. It could be frustrating. And Emma had stopped asking about her future years ago lest she obsess with wondering what Alice was trying to tell her.

"Who will Abel like then?"

Alice gave her another dreamy smile. "You, of course."

She couldn't react to that as Emmett's booming voice yelled out from outside. "Ha! I'm getting a Volvo!"

She left the bed, opened and window, and stuck her head out, trying to find Emmett's hulking form through the trees. "You are not!"

She was going to drive him _and_ his truck into the ocean. And she was _not _going to miss him. He could rot there on the sea floor. Forever.

* * *

1\. When I began writing this story, I did not intend it to be so topical but here we are. The newspaper headlines are from actual newspaper scans from 1918 I saw on Google. I was not able to explore Edward's past as much in Equinox so I'm rectifying that now. Emma is more contemplative than her male counterpart and not immune to crushes and being clueless on how to deal with them

(When I was 13, I was really mean to this boy I liked cause it was the only way he would notice me. And guess what? He hated me but he never forgot me. Fuck you, Brian.)

2\. Emma was born in the Progressive Era. The Women's Suffrage Movement was still underway in America and women were still very repressed. Women were still being taught to hide their emotions and stayed in very unhappy marriages. Emma, being white from a well-off family in Chicago, would've left school after the eight grade. As she no financial reason to, she didn't have to get a job before she found somebody to marry. Marriage was still priority for women at the time. They were also dealing with the start of World War I in 1914 and eventually the Spanish Flu in 1918.

3\. The Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 flu pandemic, was an unusually deadly influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. Lasting from spring 1918 through spring or early summer 1919, it infected 500 million people – about a third of the world's population at the time. The death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

4\. Edward, canonically, in the books from 1927 to 1931 subsidized on human blood and hunted criminals. For this story, Emma stayed on the human diet a few years longer and had a hunting partner in Rosalie. In the books, Rosalie has never had human blood but in this story, she had somebody that shared her hatred of her existence and men.

5\. Canonically, Alice was Edward's favorite sibling. In this story, Emma's favorite sibling is Emmett because he is the best. I tweaked Alice's personality to be a bit more 'dotty' on purpose. As somebody that can nearly constantly see the future, she would get her timelines messed up in her head. And considering how her ability hinges on people's decisions, she can't really give concrete assurance of what the future is. She still likes fashion design in this story, just like in Equinox.

6\. Edward never had a dog named Milo. I added him in there cause I love dogs myself. And I really want to have a beagle someday.

7\. Having them read _Carmilla_ in class made me laugh cause I'm mean like that. Carmilla is a gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu which is about a female vampire. It predates and inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.

8\. "The vampire's a very lonely figure. She wants a companion forever. You find it in almost all cultures but there are three things you find in almost every vampire story - sex, blood, and death" is from film _The Moth Diaries_. And they were discussing Carmilla in class.

9\. The song Emma played on the piano is Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1.


End file.
